This week on program 518 of New Horizons, we hear from Troy Gladwell, one of the six participants chosen from Australia to go to America as a camp counsellor. Hear about Troy, and what these camps do for the attendees. Also some timely reminders about upcoming BCA events.

You can use the embedded audio player above to listen or download the program.

New Horizons is available as a podcast! To manually subscribe, using your pod catcher of choice, place the following URL http://wordpress.bca.org.au/feed/ in the appropriate field to subscribe to the New Horizons program.

If you are a Vision Australia I-Access Library member, you can subscribe to New Horizons using the I-Access on line catalogue. Use the find facility within the on line catalogue with the search term “New Horizons” and you will be presented with current and past programs of New Horizons, from there you can subscribe to the podcast.

New Horizons is Blind Citizens Australia’s weekly radio program. It can be heard on RPH and community radio stations throughout Australia. Go here for Broadcast times and stations

Blind Citizens Australia is looking for a new name for its Regular Giving program (formerly “PACC”, Pre Authorised Credit Card). This program is vital to the organisation, with donations being made on a regular monthly basis to help support the work we do. Therefore, we want to rename the program to make it more recognisable, BCA-centric, and reflective of the significance of the contributions our donors make.

We want you, our members, to help us find the new name. Members have sent in their ideas, and you can now vote on the Top 4 entries by completing the poll linked below (you can also vote over the phone on 1800 033 660). The individual who sent in the winning name will be announced at our National Convention in October.

This week on program 517 of New Horizons, have you done your bit to ensure Audio Description on Australian television? Find out how it’s all going in this week’s episode. We are joined by Lauren Henley, who provides us with details about the Broadcast Amendment bill, and also details of an upcoming BCA teleconference about NSW transport.

You can use the embedded audio player above to listen or download the program.

New Horizons is available as a podcast! To manually subscribe, using your pod catcher of choice, place the following URL http://wordpress.bca.org.au/feed/ in the appropriate field to subscribe to the New Horizons program.

If you are a Vision Australia I-Access Library member, you can subscribe to New Horizons using the I-Access on line catalogue. Use the find facility within the on line catalogue with the search term “New Horizons” and you will be presented with current and past programs of New Horizons, from there you can subscribe to the podcast.

New Horizons is Blind Citizens Australia’s weekly radio program. It can be heard on RPH and community radio stations throughout Australia. Go here for Broadcast times and stations

With Government yet to strike a deal on its broadcast reform, now is the perfect opportunity to make television inclusive and accessible to all Australians by making provisions for audio description. Read the full media release here.

Following an unsuccessful attempt to gain information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, BCA has today directed an open letter to Senator Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance, and several other Australian Government Ministers.

This letter, which you can download here, seeks to clarify arrangements regarding the participation of people who are blind or vision impaired in the forthcoming postal survey, regarding changes to the Marriage Law.

We will keep you advised of the outcomes of this enquiry.

As many will know, this matter is being managed as a confidential survey of opinion, to be undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). In general, survey forms will be distributed by post to all those on the Australian Electoral Roll.

It is worth noting that the ABS Website includes the following statement about inclusion in the survey process:

“Special Strategies to support participation
Arrangements will be put in place to allow eligible Australians living in remote areas, those living overseas, those located in the Antarctic, Government personnel on overseas deployment, those unable to self-complete a paper form, or those without access to mail to have an opportunity to participate in the survey.Further details of these processes will be released on the ABS website (www.abs.gov.au) as soon as they are finalised.”

I draw your attention to the phrase “those unable to self-complete a paper form” which hopefully includes people who are blind or vision impaired.

While we are confident that the ABS is aware of our needs, the level of their response may depend on demonstrated demand. For this reason it will help the outcome if BCA members and others with an interest in this matter make enquiries about access to the ABS “Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey Information Line” on 1800 572 113.

Please note, as this is an “open letter” please feel free to distribute it to your networks.